Wolverhampton shoppers give verdict on when Christmas celebrations should begin
Shoppers in Wolverhampton have told the Express & Star about how they feel when seeing Christmas decorations being sold months before the big day - as well as when they're going to start their Xmas shopping and which day their decorations will go up.
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00:00So my name's Ebony and I am 27 and I live in Wolverhampton.
00:04I've stopped selling Christmas stuff already, I actually think it's a good idea,
00:07especially for a mum of me, I'm a single mum of two, I've got one at home.
00:10So when you do Halloween stuff, you have the little baskets,
00:14but as soon as you've got Christmas stuff in advance you can start now
00:16and then you don't have to spend so much come December, come November,
00:21because they're bringing stuff out after Halloween.
00:24You want it now so then you've got the time to spend it in months,
00:26not two months before because you want to bring it out after Halloween.
00:29So it's a good idea how they do it and vary around the shops.
00:33When I lived with my mum we always put the decorations up on the 12th of December
00:37simply because that was the day my dad died,
00:39so it's just been a tradition since then.
00:40I know it's a bit of a sad story to go on this Christmas,
00:43but I've actually already started buying to be honest.
00:45I've actually got about 10 to 15 gifts for each kid already.
00:49I actually started last month, even before the decorations came out,
00:54it was just general toys in the store, so yes.
00:57I don't actually ever set a budget,
00:59I just always look around at what the deals are,
01:01because sometimes, like yesterday, I saw a £9.99 toy that I bought from £2.99,
01:07so if you start now you get to look at the deals,
01:10but if you start late you miss the deals and you have to pay full price.
01:13My name's Kat Brown and I'm on my way to the 48's.
01:20I'm Albert there and I'm at the 48's.
01:25So I think it's too early,
01:27I think I'll get fed up with it before Christmas.
01:31It's just too much until later on.
01:34If it's the right time, it's probably November.
01:40When would you be putting your decorations up?
01:43About two weeks before Christmas.
01:45In terms of your presents, when do you start shopping?
01:48Well, I think most of our grandkids, we don't give them the money anyway,
01:52so we don't do a lot of Christmas shopping.
01:55I'm Vicki O'Connor, I live in Finchfield in Wolverhampton
01:59and I'm out shopping today with my elderly parents having a mooch about.
02:04So personally for me, it's a bit too soon for Christmas.
02:08I like to get Halloween and our son's birthday out the way
02:13and then on December the 1st, Christmas can happen big time.
02:19My tree's going up 1st of December without a doubt, every year.
02:24I think the run-up to Christmas is nice, it can be a bit hectic.
02:28However, having three kids, I kind of like all the build-up
02:34and maybe Christmas Eve for me, special, and then the dinner.
02:40This Christmas, my wish would be for my friends and family
02:47to be healthy and happy and to be contented.
02:50And yeah, for people in the world to be peaceful
02:55and this terrible war to stop that's happening.
02:58My name is Olivia, I'm just browsing around,
03:02waiting to go and fetch my kids from school and I'm from Wolverhampton.
03:08I work especially on these children.
03:10It takes a while for them to understand it's coming.
03:14For some children, it's a bit early and they're confused at the period of the year,
03:17so they associate Christmas with winter, so they expect the Christmas tree to come up.
03:22However, for other children, it's quite enough time to get ready for all the lights.
03:27So we know it's coming as well with the Halloween decorations,
03:32but I think it needs just to be more timely.
03:35If the shops can do it on the back of the shops
03:38and then steadily move it forward, I think I would do best at that.
03:41I know if it's already out and I have my children with me,
03:45I have three special needs children,
03:47then with more pressure on me, I know I'm not going to go in that shop
03:51because they're too early out and that wouldn't work for me on that stage.
03:57I think it has to be a good concept for who's arranging the windows and what they're selling.
04:05If they bring it on the end of the shop and slowly, slowly, progressively bring it to the front of it,
04:12I think parents and children will have more choice and time to pick.
04:15I put my decoration up always first of December
04:20and I'm starting shopping around maybe the same time, I would say, first of December.